User blog:Tadano Hitoshi/Ragtag Hustle Kancolle Edition - Everyday Hustle 6: A New Season for New Greetings for New Comrades
Sendai's Advances - Towards The Third Base! Night Battle Against the Admiral! One fine night at a certain naval base. The calmness of the night suddenly gets replaced with boisterous activity in the base. Sendai: ' "Charge!" '''Admiral (dodging Sendai's lunges and grabs): '"Whoopsie-doo. Nope. Uh-huh. Close. Yo. Whoosh whoosh." Despite their little bout appearing as if it was a cat-and-mouse game between two people, there is more noise in both Admiral's and Sendai's speech than their actual movement. '''Admiral: "You seem to be more on fire than the usual. You also look a bit red, don't you." Sendai (licking her lips): '''"Well, I could've been a bit more quieter if you quickly surrender yourself to my advances." '''Admiral: "Eh. Don't wanna." Sendai: '''"And that's why we're here now. Hah, haa... but this is great, I guess. Your resistance makes me wetter." '''Admiral: "With sweat?" Sendai: "You can say that. Where are you going to run now?" Admiral: "Well, until you get tired of it so that I can go to sleep?" Sendai: "Hah! I'll make you sleep first... and have at you while you're in your sweet dreams." Admiral: "Not going to happen. And I have back-ups, you know." Sendai: '''"!?" '''Admiral: "Your turn now, Jintsuu." Jintsuu: "... I'm sorry, Nee-san. But I can't have you pull this racket any longer. I'll be your opponent from here." Sendai: '''"Oh ho~ As expected of Admiral to think of stopping me with my sister. ... Well, Admiral, you tried ♪" '''Admiral: "Go, Jintsuu." Jintsuu: "Yes, Admiral!" And the two sisters clash in the middle of the night under the magnificent moonlight, while the Admiral retires to his private quarters. Admiral: (I knew it, she's in heat. ... Or rather, I shouldn't be addressing it that way. Oh well, gotta thank Jintsuu for helping me out. I just want to sleep now, though.) And the Admiral sleeps peacefully, blissfully ignoring the clash between the two sisters. -- The Following Day - A Good Morning. Admiral: (Uuhh... oh, it's morning... Let's open the eyes little by little. Hah, that was a good sle-- wait, I'm feeling a bit heavy and cramped on both sides... huh... wait, this feeling...) As the Admiral opens his eyes and turns his eyes to his sides, he senses something is wrong. ????: "Good morning, Admiral. It's such a fine morning isn't it. ... Looks like you're also awake down there." The Admiral stops wasting any time in thinking and immediately sprang up. Next to him are two people. Sendai and... Yahagi. Admiral: "Damn!! ... If it isn't Sendai... you managed to get past Jintsuu, huh. And Yahagi..." Yahagi: "Of course, I helped her." Admiral facepalms. Admiral: "So that's why. Hah... Et tu, Yahagi?" Yahagi: "But of course. Sendai''-san'' here isn't the only one seeking night battles with you, you know. Night battles are our soul after all." Admiral: "Do you mean the night battle as we know it or do you have a special definition for it that you try to assault me so?" Sendai: "What are you talking about, Admiral, of course we know what night battles are. Well... with you as our Admiral, of course we have a special kind of night battle..." (stroking her torpedo slowly) Admiral: "Cut that out. This is a PG-13 scene you know, I can't be having such obscenities here." Yahagi: "What are you even talking about... Oh well. We do have a preference for night battles, but we don't mind having at you early on in the morning. The early bird catches the worm, after all. ... And you have a worm itching to come out of the hole." Admiral: "Seriously, Yahagi. Hah... Well, good job on catching me off-guard, however. ... Do you hear the footsteps? It's coming near." Yahagi: "Those footsteps...?" Sendai: "Oh great. She's on her way here. Or rather we have three as our company... wait, no. We have quite one hell of a company." And with a bang, the door to the Admiral's bedroom gets broken down. Behind the (now broken) door are several shipgirls. Haruna: "HARUNA WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO DO AS YOU PLEASE!" Kaga: "I will not give up here." Akagi: "... Good morning Admiral. Looks like you got yourself in quite the predicament there." Admiral: "The fact that you'd rather rush here along instead of peacefully having your breakfast is something." Akagi (looking at Sendai and Yahagi): "It's only natural that I'd be concerned about your condition when you're flanked like that, Admiral." Admiral: "Thanks for your concern, I guess, but the door is wrecked." Haruna: "Ah! I-I'm sorry, Admiral! I was afraid you were in danger, so I rushed..." Admiral: "That's fine. I'll work on that later." And then some more joined the three at the door. Maya: "What the hell happened!? Is it enemy aircraft!?... What, it's just Sendai and Yahagi in the Admiral's room... wait, that's the problem here!" Kiso: "Really now, causing up such a ruckus early in the morning." Yuudachi: "Admiral''-san''! If it's night battle I want you to bring me along-poi! I'm itching to fight-poi! Poi!" Shigure: "Hush, Yuudachi. It's not the time for that right now. Admiral, I'm glad you're fine... Sendai''-san'', Yahagi''-san''... I'm disappointed in you guys." Sendai: "Looks like we pulled quite a crowd over here." Yahagi: "I guess Admiral here is quite the crowd magnet for this naval base. As expected of him, I'm glad I came here." Admiral: "Just what is with that remark of yours...? Anyway, everyone, settle down. I'll come down to breakfast later. Also, Yahagi, Sendai... you do this again and I'll make it so that you guys report your movement to Yamato and Jintsuu respectively. If I hear any complaints from them, I'll be making you practice targets at the shooting grounds. Are we clear?" Sendai and Yahagi: "Geh! Y-yes, sir!" (He's getting angry, all right.) Admiral: "All right. Everyone, please leave the room. Let me have some personal space f--" Haruna: "I-if it's morning preparations, Haruna... may I help you?" Kaga: "I understand, having to defend against these two invaders made a difficult morning for you. I'll help." Akagi: "Since Kaga's helping too, I'll--" Admiral: "NO! I'm making this an order. Everyone get out and let me get some morning prep on my own." Everyone: "Understood..." And thus everyone leaves the room. Admiral: "... Geez. I guess I have to be more wary of them the more time I spend with them. Wait, that goes without saying. But to think it can cause this kind of ruckus... weapons given a human soul and form, and emotion, sure is scary." -- Black and White. Choukai: "Good morning, Admiral. That was quite the racket early in the morning." Admiral: "Morning. ... Actually I planned to sleep in much longer because we just ended our Fall operations and I needed quite some rest, but with that kind of racket looks like I'll have to forget about doing that... Oh, Nagato, good morning." Nagato: "Good morning, Admiral. May I join your table?" Admiral: "Sure, have a seat. (catches sight of Graf Zeppelin, she seems to be looking for him) Oh, Graf Zeppelin! Good morning to you too. How about joining us for breakfast?" Graf: "Hmm...? Oh, Admiral. You're here. Sure." And the four of them recites their rites before their meals before eating. Admiral: "Phew. Again, I must thank both of you for coming here. Honestly I never thought I'd manage to bring both of you here in a single operation. That took quite some of my mental soundness away as well as my physical fatigue, but I'm glad we got it over with right now." Nagato: '"Were you looking for me that much...?" '''Admiral: '"Yes, even before we began the last operations. Now that you're here, I couldn't have been any happier." '''Nagato: "I-if you say so..." Admiral: "Is my admiration that overbearing? I know I've been searching for you high and low, but sometimes I might have gone too far in my expectations." Nagato: "W-wha, n-no, I-I... don't hate it." Admiral: '"I see. But if it really did disturb you in a way, I apologize." '''Choukai: '"Nagato''-san'', that's quite meek of you, who I know as a very prideful battleship who was once the fleet's flagship. Is this the Nagamon I hear about from some other places?" '''Nagato: "No, no! You're wrong about that. Also what did you mean by Nagamon!?" Graf: "For a fleet flagship, you're unexpectedly soft with praises from the Admiral. I wonder if the other Japanese ships are like that." Nagato: "What did you say...!?" Graf: "Still, I suppose it's not something to be ashamed of. Being a flagship means a lot of burden to our minds. We need to cut ourselves a bit of slack when in downtime, I guess." Admiral: "I live by that. Or rather as you can see, to the uptight I look a bit too laid-back and undisciplined. I can make myself very presentable but I'd rather not when it's just us over here in the base." Choukai: "Commander-''san'', you seem to love wearing that black uniform when we are on important missions. I think those are some of the few times we actually get to see you dressed up proper." Admiral: "That's no 'love.' It's just something I do. Recall, Choukai, when was the other times you see me donning this uniform?" Choukai: "Hmm... last Summer I saw you heading out with the Combined Fleet for the final operation with that uniform. Come to think of it, I sailed with you with you in that uniform during the final mission of our recently ended Fall operations as well." Admiral: "The black uniform for me has a ritualistic meaning. I intended for my donning of it as a symbol of seeing off the dead back into their realm. Considering we're dealing with the Abyssals, it has a sarcastic intention to it." Choukai: "Our last battle with the Destroyer Water Demon sure had you quite into it, though." Admiral: "It was all about appearances... What other better ways to break an enemy who tries to break us than to show them we're pretty unbreakable?" Nagato: "But Admiral, when I first saw you, I didn't see you wearing that black uniform. What gives?" Graf: "Yes... Admiral, you looked exactly like that when we first met." Admiral: "Oh, um." Graf: "Could it be that you found us when you were still scouting the area? But your fleet at that time didn't look like they were doing any scouting, though." Admiral: "At that time we already finished off the enemy around the areas... several times over. According to intel by your compatriot destroyer, though, it was said you were somehow around the area. Along the way we found Nagato and Shoukaku, so we quickly repatriated them back to our base." Graf: "I see. ... Admiral, some day I want to see you in that black uniform again. I also believe you would look better if you properly wear your current uniform, though." Admiral: "Thanks, but I'd like it if I can stay like this a bit longer however. Winter is coming though, so maybe I'll dress up a bit more sharply because it does get quite cold if I leave some bits loose like this... uh, Nagato?" Nagato: ''(Admiral in that black uniform... he's sure to sport a very charismatic air if he does that. Even though he looks a bit too young in appearance... hah. W-wait, what if he had some cute uniform on...? Maybe something like...)'' Admiral: "Earth to Nagato, are you with us?" Nagato: "Um... huh? Oh! I'm sorry, Admiral. Pardon me." Choukai: "Just a suggestion, Admiral, but maybe you should try a new set of uniform, we'll get it tailor-made for you. It seems we could use the new image of you in it as a morale booster of sorts." Nagato: '''"Ah...! W-what are you saying, Choukai! Isn't that a little bit too irresponsib--" '''Choukai: "If you think I cannot read into what you had in mind just by looking at your facial expression, former Combined Fleet Flagship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, I suggest you take a mirror and see what face you're making right now..." Nagato: "Are you trying to start someth--''(looks into a mirror)... Oh, oh. Please pardon me, Admiral. I have shown a very shameful side of myself." ''(kowtowing) Graf: "Certainly that was a very interesting expression... Quite a lively atmosphere you have for a Navy. This certainly uplifts the mood. Anyway, I too would be curious to see what kind of get-up you will be having soon. I'm looking forward to it." Admiral: "That kind of expectation is quite a heavy one for me, Graf Zeppelin..." Graf (smiles): "Fufu. You're an able man, I'm pretty sure we'll have a very delightful experience when it happens." (beat) Admiral, Nagato, Choukai: (So she can smile...) -- The Agano-class Agano: "Admiral-''san''! We came over to play~! Kirari~n!" Sakawa: "Pyaaa~! Together with my sisters! Sakawa never thought she'd see this day!" Noshiro: "Sakawa, Agano''-nee'', stop it. Admiral is busy!" Yahagi: "Really now..." Noshiro: "Yahagi, you're not one to talk either. I heard you and Sendai''-san'' tried to... to... assault the Admiral in his room earlier this morning, what was that for!?" Yahagi: "Err..." Admiral: "Girls, I don't mind you hanging out here for whatever reason, but whatever you do, try to keep it down, all right?" Noshiro: "Admiral! We're terribly sorry! It seems my sisters have caused you nothing but trouble..." Admiral: "Nothing major, no harm done. Good to know you got yourself together... Yahagi, at first I was happy you came here first before your sisters, but that thing in the morning was..." Yahagi: "Contrary to whatever you may think of me and the many other 'me' you see in other naval bases, Admiral, I'm the assertive type. My way of getting to know you better is by up close and personal. Then I happened to chance upon Sendai-''san'' who's very knowledgeable about you. I figured that I would learn about you from her." Admiral: "Talk about getting the weirdest teacher-- never mind. What is it about me that... uh, strikes your fancy to that point?" Yahagi: "It was your very warm welcome of me." Admiral: "Huh?" (Flashback time!) Admiral: "Finally! Yahagi''-san'', welcome! I have been expecting you!" Yahagi: "Eh...?" (Beat. Admiral's clasping Yahagi's hands in his rather tightly.) Yahagi: "O-oh. Thank you for such a warm welcome... Fufu, that's thoughtful of you. I don't mind that." Admiral: "Yahagi''-san''...?" Yahagi: " Haha, interesting. If you want to do thi~s, then maybe I'll do the same then, how about that?" Admiral: "Wh-what do you--mmpff!" Yahagi: "How do I describe this... you have a firm build, yet your body feels soft. Hmm, I think I can get really used to this." Sendai: "Stop right there... it's your first time meeting each other and you're getting a little bit touchy feely." Yahagi: "Oh, Sendai''-san''... aren't you? This is quite a fine young Admiral you have here." Sendai: "He's our Admiral, all right. Anyway, he's quite something, you know. He's a night battle specialist, if you know what I mean." Yahagi: "Oh? A night battle specialist? That's good to hear! Anyway, over here this means you're my senior, right? Pleased to make your acquaintance!" Sendai: "Oh, you're also into night battles? We'd make a team then. Welcome to the party!" Admiral: (I-I can't breathe...!) (flashback ends) Admiral: "So it's from that time then!?" Yahagi: "From what I heard you have a very good aptitude for night operations. You also reported in during night time, something Admirals I know of over here rarely do." Admiral: "It's true I have a preference for night time, but my definition of 'night battle' doesn't have the kind you and Sendai were seeking for when it comes to me!" Noshiro: "All right, Yahagi, cut that out already. Let the Admiral do his work... Admiral, we're truly sorry!" Yahagi: "Ye~p, Noshiro''-nee''." Admiral: "No big deal. Just tone the noise level down, all right?" Noshiro: "Yes, sir! Admiral!" -- The Eye of the Storm - Post-Midway. Hagikaze: " Commander, did you see Arashi? Huh, you haven’t? Come on, what in the world is she up to? I will give her a good talk about this next time." Admiral: "... Yes, and when you do, please come over to the room. The Nagumo Mobile Fleet would love to have us for their chatter." Hagikaze: "E-eh? The Nagumo Mobile Fleet? ... Along with Akagi''-san'', Kaga''-san'' too... and the Second Carrier Division?" Admiral: "Yes. They'll be happy if they can see both of you again after quite a long time." Hagikaze: "Really!? I'll go then! But first, I'll have Arashi come along." Admiral: "Please do. Without her they just can't start." Hagikaze: "Understood! I'll be looking for her now!" Hagikaze rushes off to search for Arashi. Admiral: (Well, I did tell the Nagumo Mobile Fleet that the happening is in the past now, so bringing it up for the sake of nostalgia is good, crying over spilt milk isn't. Glad they are pretty reasonable ladies about that. ... But I guess I'm a little bit too thrilled to know how this will turn out. Heh...) -- Admiral: "Well, I guess everyone is here?" Hagikaze: "Yes." Arashi: "Y-yeah. Uh-huh." Admiral: "Nowaki, Hagikaze, Arashi. Any greetings you want to exchange to Akagi-san and her company after being parted for so long?" Hagikaze: "Akagi-san, Kaga-san, it's a pleasure to be able to meet you again after such a long time. Kaga-san, about that time..." Kaga: "No need to worry. You did as you should. Besides, we are all here now. We should be grateful to the Admiral for this occasion." Hagikaze: "I-I see..." Arashi: "Uh... y-yo?" Hagikaze: "Arashi, that's no way to greet our superiors..." Akagi: "It's fine, we don't mind at all." Nowaki: "Uuuhh... well, Commander, I have been here much earlier than these two though...? I mean, I even reported in for duty way earlier before we even knew Arashi and Hagikaze's whereabouts during the last operation." Admiral: "Ah... yes. I totally forgot about you... I'm terribly sorry." Akagi: "Here, you girls should take a seat. It's been a while so we had a lot to tell." And so there was much noise. (Note: I'm too lazy to fill in their idle chatter before I start breaking to them the story about their Midway experience so yeah.) Admiral: "All right. Girls. I have one piece of a very interesting story to tell. Before I do, promise me that you won't suddenly start wanting to hack at someone or something for something that has happened in your past. You do that here and I'll see you in the brig. Understand?" The shipgirls nod. Admiral: "I was reading up on events during the Battle of Midway. Upon coming up an entry involving Arashi, it seems there was a veeerrryyy interesting story." Arashi: "E-eh? Me? Huh?" Admiral: "Yes." The Admiral turns towards Akagi. Admiral: "Recall, Akagi, during the time when you were under attack by the enemy's dive bomber flights at that time. The 'crucial five minutes.' " Akagi: "Eh? Um... to me, they seemed to come out from nowhere. The next moment I knew of it they were already above us, preparing to strike. And the rest is as you have learned..." Admiral: "Right. Akagi, what if I were to say that they totally didn't come out from nowhere? Everyone has to come from somewhere. Do you want to know where that somewhere is?" Akagi: "I wish I could have known that..." He then turns back towards Arashi. Arashi: "Eh?" Admiral: "All right. Arashi, what were you doing in the battle?" Arashi: "Er, well... You know, there was that submarine shadowing us, so I was trying to be rid of it for the group. But then I realized I got too far away and went back to rejoin them in a hurry." Admiral: "Good. Now, Arashi, had you been self-conscious back then and are able to sense around your surroundings... would you, then, realize what you have done?" Arashi: "Uh... nope? As it is I still don't have any idea how that amounts to anything you're trying to tell me...?" Admiral: "Okay. Here's some excerpts of what I've been reading. Get ready to be amazed, ladies... And don't start anything funny after hearing it." "Arashi played a vital role in World War II by inadvertently guiding US attack planes to the Japanese carrier fleet at the Battle of Midway. Arashi had become separated from the Japanese carrier force while attempting to destroy an American submarine, USS Nautilus. Following her attacks on Nautilus, Arashi steamed at high speed to rejoin the group. All four IJN carriers were sunk by Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers of American aircraft carriers USS Yorktown and USS Enterprise, giving the US a decisive victory and checking Japanese momentum in the Pacific War..." "... Providing escort to the carrier group, the destroyer was alerted to the presence of an approaching U.S. submarine, USS Nautilus, when a Japanese Zero fighter aircraft dived and fired machine guns at Nautilus as it came to periscope depth. Arashi spotted the encounter and began to drop depth charges. The Japanese Task force changed course while Arashi continued its attack on Nautilus. Having kept Nautilus down long enough that she no longer was a threat, the captain of Arashi finally broke off the attack and steamed north to rejoin the carrier group. As two squadrons of dive bombers from Enterprise searched above for the Japanese Task Force, Arashi was spotted making great speed to the north. The ship's speed created a long wake, which acted as a direction arrow to the American aviators, guiding them to the Japanese carriers. Meanwhile, Japanese fighter aircraft protecting the carriers had been pulled away as they all attempted to engage an incoming torpedo attack from Hornet‍ 's VT-8 torpedo squad. At the moment of decision, the Japanese carriers were essentially without high air cover. This made for an uncontested approach for the American dive bombers. The Enterprise dive bombers happened to arrive over the Japanese carriers Kaga and Akagi unimpeded, scoring multiple hits on Kaga and a single hit on Akagi that doomed both ships." The room goes silent. Arashi: "What..." Admiral: "..." Arashi: "I-I did that? Just with that?" Akagi: "So... that explains it..." Arashi: "N-no. No, nope, nada. Admiral, you have to be kidding me. That cannot be. I... I didn't...!!" Admiral: "Do I have a reason to joke with you about what has already happened 73 years ago?" Hagikaze: "Gasp..." Arashi: "... But, but!!" Admiral: "What is it?" Arashi: "Had I knew of it back then, I wouldn't have caused...!!!" Admiral: "Hindsight 20/20, Arashi. Things like that can and will happen, or rather in this case, already happened. It's war, after all." Akagi: "It's true that hadn't that happened, we could have prevented that fateful five minutes..." Admiral: "And even if you did, Akagi, if you happen to score your much sought-after victory in Midway, all you would be doing is delaying the inevitable." Akagi: "But..." Admiral: "Face it, even if it did happen, you're fighting a nation with industrial power several magnitudes more tremendous than yours. Everything you did after that would be too much for your home nation to sustain while your enemy simply has plenty of time to buy to rebuild for an even fiercer counterattack. You were doomed right from the start. You want a goofy yet an accurate visualization of their capability to overwhelm your fighting power with pure industrial might? This would be it." Akagi: "..." Kaga: "... Admiral. I don't like your tone. How could you even say--" Akagi: "Actually, Kaga-''san'', the Admiral is right after all." Kaga: "But, Akagi-san...!" Akagi: "Ladies. Did you remember what Admiral Yamamoto said before we attacked Pearl Harbor?" The Nagumo Mobile Fleet: ""I shall run wild considerably for the first six months or a year, but I have utterly no confidence for the second and third years." Akagi: "He's always been opposing the decision to make war with the States. Come to think of it, he was also one of the officers who objected against our nation's alliance with Germany and the pasta country (Italy)." Admiral: "In the end, thanks to running on the wrong spectrum of politics, you were thrust into a war on the wrong side with no hope of winning." The room returns silent for a few moments, until Admiral again breaks the silence. Admiral: "... Hah. This kind of history talk is getting boring, actually. Not to mention we're picking up on a very heavy topic in terms of complexity and emotional strain to us when it's already happened. Like I said, when we're talking about it, hindsight is 20/20. It's easy to see where you went wrong after it all has happened. But had things gone your way back then, would you then reconsider how wrong you were? No. Because things would have gone your way therefore you would acknowledge that you were right. Let's get back to the present. For whatever strange things fate had in mind, it had me in the role of a man you would acknowledge as your Admiral, and you - human incarnations of what would be warships of old - meeting here in this room, talking about days that have gone by - days that I never get to experience, only acknowledge. Allow me to recite this quote: The past is of no importance. The present is of no importance. It is with the future that we have to deal. For the past is what man should not have been. The present is what man ought not to be. (Source) The you here is the present. You're now living for the future of mankind as a whole. Not just for your nation. You go down, I'll also go down, and so will the rest of mankind. Think this through." The facial expressions of the girls in the room change into softer ones, but they are still silent. Admiral: "... Man, that was heavy. I'm parched. All right, let's drink our tea. It's getting cold. End of story." Arashi: "Huh?" Admiral: "Don't tell me you still want to mope about the story?" Arashi: "H-huh... no. I won't. You're right. But we're... human." Akagi: "Having feelings like that is a consequence of becoming human, I suppose. But it's what we are now, we'll have to learn to live with it. Also, for you two, Hagikaze-''san'' and Arashi-''san''... just to tell you something interesting, Admiral here is what you would call a night man." Hagikaze: "A 'night man'...? What does that mean...?" Akagi: "In case if you haven't realized during our last operation where we picked you up, Admiral is a specialist at night-time operations." Admiral: "Not much of a specialist than outright preference due to the tactical advantages, but yeah." Hagikaze: "...!!!" Admiral: "Hagikaze, Arashi. I know that you two aren't really fans of night time ops. I'll divulge on that after this. Hopefully after this you'll learn why and live with it." Nowaki: (That was pretty dramatic and all, but why am I even here again...? Well, the Second CarDiv-''sans doesn't seem to be saying anything too, though...?)'' -- The Admiral's Battle Doctrine - Re: Night Operations, Etc. Admiral: "As you might have known from my recent operations, night ops is where I excel at. Or rather, I prefer conducting missions using the dark cover of night." Hagikaze, Arashi: "..." Admiral: "You might be wondering What is the use boasting about night fighting with an enemy who can still see where you are in the dark? Where's the advantage? to yourselves. But believe it or not, you're now living in the 21st century as incarnations of warships who appear human for whatever reason. While bestowed the power of a warship, you now have another ace in the hole in your hands - the capability to act human. Now let's divulge how you can use it to your advantage, and become masters of the dark. As human figures, you now appear nothing larger than a rowboat on modern radar at close range. Back then the enemy you fought had the advantage of radar. Now that technology has progressed you too, can now make use of it with even better perks made available to you. For example, have you ever heard of 'night vision goggles?' That's equipment for a foot soldier prowling in the night. Fairies are amazing, you know. I wouldn't be risking my battle doctrine on night time warfare if they couldn't as much as do anything about that. Well, that 'night vision goggles' is for me to use, though. The fairies have a better idea on what shipgirls like you should be using. As you can see, some of our best ladies around here are trained for night operations. Sendai, Yuudachi, Shigure, Ayanami, Choukai, Ashigara... even most of them who are more active during the day have training for night operations. Kawakaze, despite being in reserve, is an excellent performer as well. It's not just them. Even the gentle battleship, Haruna. Even Maya who normally specializes in fleet air defense. That fleet carrier Graf Zeppelin is the first carrier in our roster who has night battle capability, however for me that is secondary after doing an evaluation check on her capabilities. Still, when you have a fleet carrier who can show she's not just a sitting duck after dusk, that says a lot about my policies. However, I also have other things I still pay attention to. Arashi, I know you pride yourself in keeping the fleet safe from submarines. However you also need to pay attention to your surroundings like I told you earlier, lest things end up like back then. Still, submarine warfare is one of the things I tend to give a lot of drills over and over again. We have anti-submarine battleships and cruisers. Those would be the aviation battleships and cruisers you have seen roaming about in this naval base. Standard surface warfare goes on as usual. But in order to finish off the main enemy fleets in operations, we pursue them till the night. None shall escape, especially their flagships. Those in the escort fleet should see to it that they are well-versed in both daytime combat and night combat, especially if they are escorting a carrier task force. As for the carriers, my principle is 'decide everything from the first strike.' Should the enemy fleets be totally incapacitated before the surface combatants get to them, then it's a tactical plus for us." Hagikaze: "Um... Commander, if I may ask... what was the Summer operations like for you? I've heard stories about it from the other shipgirls in the base, but I only have a rough idea of how it was for you..." Admiral suddenly turns silent upon listening to this. Hagikaze: "Commander? ... I-I'm sorry, did I say something I shouldn't have...?" Admiral: "... Um. No. But yes, it was my first major operation after establishing this base under my command. As to how it went for me... Well, having to admit defeat while persuading the enemy this: that even with our defeat, they suffered quite the loss towards a new staff of the navy on their part - is nerve-wrecking on my part. To be honest, from reports I've heard, the enemy flagship was on the verge of breaking from our constant attacks, but we ran out at the last second." Arashi: "Gah... that really had to disappoint after coming that far." Admiral: "Well, there was a lot of lesson learnt from there. You see, back then we were woefully equipped with only a few of them having the most proper loadout to dish out some actual hurt on the enemy. After the operation, there was a lot of work spent on modernizing everything. You heard it, everything. Anything that can be worked on, will be worked on. I was glad Akashi came to the base just in time for that. The only thing that's left right now at this moment is building new dorm spaces as well as dock spaces, but I'll have to figure that out later. As of now? I wouldn't say we're at the level we can afford to give you shiny new stuff for each of you to keep yet, but we're pretty much at the level we can sortie our best-trained, best-equipped shipgirls on short notice." Arashi: "That sounds good for you I guess. But well..." Admiral: "So, knowing that you have to deal with an Admiral who expects you to do well at night time operations, are you feeling some pressure yet?" Hagikaze: "Umm... yes... as I expected, I'm still afraid of the dark. But I hope I can overcome it under your training, Commander." Arashi: "Y-yeah. I gotta do my best too." Admiral: "Well, no need to rush. We'll take this slow and easy. Well then, it's time to head out for lunch. Let's go, you two." Hagikaze: "Yes, Commander!" Arashi: "Lunch, huh? I'm getting hungry too. Let's go!" -- Autumn Moon At the mess hall. Admiral: (Lunch time... hah. For some reason I'm getting urges for some shut-eye around this hour... but I have things to do. ... Wait, that's Akizuki... what's holding her up at the counter for so long? Mamiya's looking confused too.) The Admiral decides to approach them. Akizuki: "T-that much!? I can't take it, Mamiya-san!" Mamiya: "It's fine, it's fine! We normally serve that much in the first place. Or would you have liked a little bit more...?" Akizuki: "N-no! That's not what I meant!" Admiral: "... How about you take what Mamiya is giving you, and go wait for me at that table over there. We'll have lunch together." Mamiya: "Oh my, Admiral. Good afternoon." Akizuki: "Commander!? But, but...!!" Admiral: "Do I have to make that an order, Akizuki?" Akizuki: "No..." Reluctantly accepting Mamiya's generous servings, Akizuki walks away towards the table the Admiral pointed her to. Mamiya: "Way to go, Admiral. You just ordered a young girl to accept food, ufufu." Admiral: "Jokes aside. Mamiya-''san'', I'd like to have the salmon set for today." Mamiya: "Acknowledged, one set coming right up... Are you sure you want to eat these right in front of her, Admiral?" Admiral: "I bear no ill will. But when given good food, one needs to appreciate it, not turn it down. Reading through her history makes me think." Mamiya: "Fufu. As expected of the Admiral, you pay quite the attention on these parts. But there's more to us shipgirls than just being an incarnation of the behemoths of the past, you know~" Admiral: "... Is it ready yet? The set." Mamiya: "Here you go~" Taking the set of food from Mamiya, Admiral soon joins Akizuki at the table. The two partake in their meals rather quietly, and soon enough, Akizuki feels quite uncomfortable. Akizuki: "Um... Commander?" Admiral: "Hmm?" Akizuki: "Akizuki... may I go ahead and take my leave?" Admiral: "Why?" Akizuki: "I've finished eating..." Admiral: "Really? But you have so much on your plate." Akizuki: "Ah, these? I'm planning to keep them as my reserves." Admiral: "... It might not be becoming of me as your Commander to say this, Akizuki, but listen to this: You're going to finish this. Now." Akizuki: "Ah..." Admiral: "..." The two stay silent for a bit, and then there was a noise of a growl. Akizuki flushes with red. Admiral: "You call that 'finish eating?' Sit back down, and finish your meal." Slowly, Akizuki does so. A few moments after that... Admiral: "Is it delicious?" Akizuki: "Huh?" Admiral: "Your food." Akizuki: "Ah... Yes, yes! It is! For quite a long time, Akizuki rarely had the chance to savor such food! ... Ah, I'm sorry, Commander..." Admiral: "Really. I'm glad you liked it." Akizuki: "Eh?" Admiral: "You see, Akizuki... do you know what era are you living in right now?" Akizuki: "That's... well, from what I know, this is the 21st century that I'm currently experiencing right now... right, Commander...?" Admiral: "Right you are. Despite the Abyssal threats, we have a lot to keep anyone from going hungry over here. Well, by right we had to be, otherwise you won't be seeing our capital shipgirls as they are right now. What I'm trying to tell you here is to be thankful that you get to live in such a good time. And eat such good food." Akizuki: "Ah..." Admiral: "Do you want to know what I've been doing before when I was not an Admiral?" Akizuki: "...?" Admiral: "I was under training for survival in the forest. I had to strip myself to my undies, and I was given a bowl and a knife. Then I was left alone for a few days, and my order was to live with what I have been given. It wasn't a good feeling and I barely passed by a breadth's hair, and most of my hunts rarely returned me with anything meaningful for the stomach. Well, when under desperate situations, things that one won't normally eat will look very enticing. There are a few times where I was caught trying to cheat for the training, and I was put in a prison half-submerged in a river." Akizuki: "... That must've been awful... back then, we barely had anything to eat due to our war situation at that time. Whatever little we have of the rations, we tried to make it as palatable as possible, but alas, what could we do with such things... I've seen people so desperate they drank sea water only to be even more dangerously dehydrated." Admiral: "Yeah. ... My point is, after being exposed to such awful things, being able to eat like this feels like we're already in heaven, aren't we? Man, shouldn't we be thankful for this?" Hearing this, Akizuki's cheeks flushes a bit red. Akizuki: "Yes..." Admiral: "So yeah. We'll fight to ensure we, and everyone else, can continue to enjoy this kind of bliss." Akizuki smiles. Akizuki: "I understand, Commander. ... By the way, I've heard about your Summer operations, somewhat. Was it true that you pushed so far into enemy territory to attempt to rescue my sister?" The Admiral gulps. Admiral: "... Uh. Um. Admittedly, I did. But forgive me, Akizuki. I wasn't able to. They got us when we almost had them." Akizuki: "I see... Nevertheless, thank you for trying, Admiral. With me right here, we can go for a second chance should the opportunity rises upon us. Right? I'm pretty sure that with a good sister like her, we'll have a good time in your service, Commander." Admiral: "That kind of flattery is a little bit much for me, Akizuki. But yes, should we get another chance, I won't hesitate to finish what I couldn't accomplish back then. ... That smug enemy princess still owes me a beating to be handed over... er? Maya, have a seat, don't just stand there." Maya's sudden appearance makes Akizuki jump for a bit. Maya: "... will get... in your stead." Akizuki: "Um, Maya-san, come again...?" Admiral: "Maya?" Maya: "I said I'll get revenge for you in your stead. I've been dying to lob a fist to that smug bitch's head ever since I saw you returning from that final sortie in Summer. Ya got a problem with that?" Admiral: "... Maya-''san''. It's true that we have some unsettled business with her. But it's best that we remain patient until we finally get our opportunity. Even then, I'd like it if we can remain our cool and deliver her our payback, blow by blow." Maya: "Said the guy who looks so down for not being able to finish the job." Admiral: "What was that, Maya-''san''!?" Akizuki: "Uh, umm... was it a very sensitive topic for this naval base, Commander? I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked..." Admiral: "No, you have your rights as you were her sister." Maya: "Come to think of it, in the recent Fall operations, we expanded a lot just to find you." (points at Akizuki) Admiral: "Maya. Are you trying to pick a fight with her?" Maya: "Ah, yeah. I totally would. Totally would've knocked some sense of mine into her even with you here. But... you know. It'd be totally uncool if I did. But still, I need to vent." Admiral: "Fine. Instead of letting it out on her, let it out on me instead. Finding both her and her sister was part of my orders for both operations. We wasted a lot trying, didn't we? Have at me." Maya's angry expression suddenly changes into a saddened expression. Maya: "... No can do, Admiral. Back then, if only you noticed I was here before we started our Summer operations... I wasn't too shabby at that time either, you know. But yeah... I could have helped you back then. But you didn't even want to rely on me." Admiral: "..." Maya: "You only noticed me after Summer. I was glad when ya did, y'know? ... Enough of this, I guess. What has happened, already happened. I'm simply venting needlessly right now." Akizuki: "M-Maya-san... I, I'm terribly sorry..." Maya: "Sigh. Hah, it's fine. Sure, back then I did witness how stressed Admiral was after the failed Summer operations, y'see. But now that we've progressed this much, ain't no time to be sulking. ... Admiral, I've said this a few times before... You can count on me. If any enemy plane dares to touch you, I'll shoot them all down. ... You too, air defense destroyer, promise me you can do yourself that much. I won't forgive you if I have to leave this guy to you and you can't keep 'em away from him. All right?" Akizuki: "Y-yes! Air defense destroyer, Akizuki, will protect Commander from air threats to the best of her ability!" Maya: "Good. Well, come on now. (tucks the Admiral under her arm) Let's get ourselves a toast for this." Admiral: (... I've said something like this before, didn't I? Warships getting '''emotional' is also making my head spin. Then again my mistake is to see them as warships first and women second.)'' -- Fleet Secretary Kashima Kashima: (I just came here, so I haven't had a good idea on how the Admiral operates... Ooyodo-san gave me a lot of pointers, though, but I hope I can do it just fine...) Kashima knocks on the door to the Admiral's office. Kashima: "Kashima reporting... May I come in?" Silence. Kashima: (He's not responding...? Did I do that wrong... hmm? The door is unlocked... ah.) Opening the door, the first sight that greets Kashima's eyes is the Admiral - asleep on his chair. Kashima: (Admiral? ... He's asleep... Wow, that's a lot of paperworks. He must've been working on them since the afternoon. Let's see...) Kashima inspects the paperworks on the Admiral's table. Kashima: (Amazing... he's more than halfway done, he must've fallen asleep in the middle of completing them. But should I help finish it, I wonder...) While contemplating over what to do, she remembers one of Ooyodo's tips regarding the Admiral. Ooyodo: "If he falls asleep on his seat, just do whatever, I guess? Well, most of the time he'll wake up as soon as someone gets into the room, but if he doesn't then don't mind him. ... Maybe you could help with the paperwork, or, you know, give him coffee. Or wait for him to wake up if you are undecided. Most of the day he's been around the naval base for other work before he gets down to the paperworks, and he usually gets it all done by the end of the day, so don't worry much about that." Kashima: (... Maybe I'll help, and serve him coffee. ... Come to think of it, he likes milked coffee with sugar, right? Let's make it before we get down to the paperworks...) -- Admiral: (Ngghh... oh hell, I fell asleep again doing the paperworks... huh? There's a cup of coffee in front of me. Wait, where's the paperworks... Kashima? Dang. Not only I fell asleep doing all these, and I didn't even notice when she came in...) Kashima: "Ah! Are you awake, Admiral-''san''? You were asleep while doing the paperworks, so I helped finish it and left you that cup of coffee over there. ... Am I interfering too much?" Admiral: "Uh, no. Far from it. Sorry for falling asleep while doing them... and not noticing that you came in. Still, you were a lifesaver. Thank you." Kashima: "I see. You're welcome, Admiral-''san''. ... To have me become a great help for you like this, I'm very delighted. Ufufu." Admiral: "Hah... You have quite the flowery persona there. I guess that helped me relax. Well, we're done for the day, I guess? I'll be going outside for a bit for some fresh air. Are you coming with me?" Kashima: "...!!! Yes, I would be glad to! Ehehe." Admiral: (stretches) "Ngghhh... whew. Let's go." Kashima: "Yes, Admiral-''san." ''And the two walk down to the ports, witnessing the sunset. Unknown to them, however, are some girls who've been following them ever since they went out of the office... Haruna: (Uuu... Kashima-san, I want to stand next to the Admiral like that...) Kaga: (The sunset is beautiful... and yet a new face is stealing a march on us.) Akagi: (Yes, this is a fine sunset. ... I wish I could just be next to the Admiral right now.) Atago: (... Just what is that training cruiser being all bubbly for? She just got here a while ago and yet Admiral really likes to send her to supervise the exercises with other Admirals. ... Hmp, Admiral sure loves to forget that I was here '''first'.)'' Category:Blog posts